From Maximum PC Magazine's website I read this short article recently:

Maximum PC said:

Archbishop Warns Email could Lead to Suicide

Cyber-bullies aren't the only dangers today's teens face when staying connected through social networking sites and other forms of digital communication. According to Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, excessive emailing and text messaging is leading young people to form "transient relationships," putting them at a higher risk of suicide when the friendships break down.

"I think there's a worry that an excessive use, or an almost exclusive use of text and emails means that as a society we're losing some of the ability to build interpersonal communication that's necessary for living together and building a community," said the 63-year-old Archbishop in an interview published on Sunday.

According to Archbishop Nichols, networking sites encourage kids to put a greater importance on the number of friends they have rather than the quality of friendship. When that network collapses, it can be "a key factor in their committing suicide," he said.

What do you think? Are we losing our ability to build inter-personal communication or is it a crock?

I think it has merit only with unregulated out-of-control social networking, by which I mean, use moderation folks! Doing anything to excess is bad for you. Otherwise this is really a crock. Today's youth are more connected than any other generation. Take my younger sister for example. She sends probably 3,000+ text messages to her friends every month about every little thing. She's constantly connected to friends and being social with them. As for me, I only 'friend' people I actually know on Facebook. I never saw the point of 'friending' every person you could find and their dog.